Are you interested in shooting an 83? Well, if you’re a 6 handicap … probably not. However, if you currently score in the 90’s or 100’s … it probably sounds like a good goal to accomplish.
As I’m always fascinated in new ways to describe to Golfers how they can improve their game/score – I believe in an old phrase that a very successful individual once said to me: “To be successful, study successful people and do what they do.”
Now when a PGA Tour Player scores an 83 … it probably wouldn’t be considered a successful round of golf. However, if a Golfer like you has the desire to score 83 (or somewhere lower than you currently score), we could look at how that PGA Tour Player scored the 83 – then see if you could replicate how he did it.
Because as Stewart Cink was probably upset with his 83 in the 1st round of the PGA Tour event last week … there are many, many Golfers reading this that would love to be able to shoot as “badly” as Stewart Cink.
So what is the key to scoring 83?
Is it 300 yard drives? Is it hitting every fairway with your Driver? Is it hitting 12 Greens in Regulation each round? Is it never ever having a 3 putt?
To the contrary – many Golfers are actually surprised by how imperfect you can be and still score 83. So to the Golfers that are reading this that have the goal of breaking 90 or 100 – you can use Stewart Cink’s round of golf as a guideline – yet ease up on what he did even more because you might not be looking for an 83. You could look at these stats and then say: “Hey, this should be easy because his stats aren’t that great and I’d be happy to be 6 strokes worse than he is (to score an 89)!”
Now, for the Golfer looking to break 80 every time (someone that scores between 78 and 86, but wants to be in the 70’s more often). You should also look at these stats and celebrate because it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to improve on them every round you play.
So are you ready? Are you ready to see what it takes to score 83?
First – Driving Accuracy: Stewart hit “only” 4 fairways. Which means he missed 10 fairways with his Driver.
What does this mean for you? There are many, many Golfers out there that feel as though you need to hit every fairway (or nearly every fairway) in order to have a great round of golf. And by having that mindset – you put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect.
Your need to make the perfect swing every time you’re on the tee box will have you thinking too much about your golf swing. And ‘Thinkers are Stinkers’ – ‘If You Think, You Stink’. Plus, the tinkering you do to your golf swing while on the golf course just contributes you to carrying over those “bad golf swings” to the other clubs in your golf bag.
Stewart was far from perfect – he only hit 4 fairways and still shot 83!
Second – Driving Distance: Stewart averaged “only” 291 yards each drive. Now a lot of Golfers are probably saying: “291 yards a drive – that’s much longer than I can hit it!” And that may be true, but you must first understand that driving distance is relative to the length of the golf course you’re playing.
As Stewart was playing a golf course that measured over 7,200 yards long – most men are playing from 6,200 yards and most women are playing from 5,300 yards. So we need to make adjustments because Stewart driving it 291 yards on a 7,200 yard course is equivalent to a man driving the golf ball 250 yards (from the 6,200 yard tees) and a woman driving the golf ball 214 yards (from the 5,300 yard tees).
What does this mean for you? From my experience – 250 yards for men and 214 yards for women is something that may seem difficult. However, if you’re a guy hitting it 215 yards or a gal hitting it 177 yards – maybe you won’t score 83 … but you’re hitting it far enough to break 90.
Third – Greens in Regulation: Stewart hit “only” 6 out of 18 Greens in Regulation. Which means he was on a Par 3 in 1 shot; a Par 4 in 2 shots; a Par 5 in 3 or less shots – “only” 6 times out of 18 chances. Now on the PGA Tour, most Players are around 12 Greens – so 6 is way below average for a Player of that caliber.
What does this mean for you? Well, what is it going to take for a Golfer that is averaging 1 or 2 Greens in Regulation per round to start hitting more Greens in Regulation? The #1 factor to more Greens is hitting solid iron shots. What we find is that most Golfers don’t hit the golf ball solid with their irons. Most Golfers do not hit the golf ball first and then the ground.
Although most Golfers try to do this … they often fail and start hitting the ground before the golf ball or compensating by scooping their wrists, creating weak, off-center golf shots. We have found that when we start helping Golfers to hit the golf ball more solid (by learning to use your Center of Gravity) – our Golfers start to hit solid golf shots, thus increasing their distance and accuracy — equaling more Greens in Regulation.
I know of Golfers that have been taking 30 minute golf lessons for years … and are still only hitting 1 or 2 Greens in Regulation per round. However, if you learn to control your Center of Gravity – you learn to hit solid golf shots and more Greens in Regulation! You should all be able to hit 6 Greens in Regulation – the key is that you understand how to hit the golf ball solid.
Fourth – Putts per round: Stewart had 32 putts for his round. Now this is often a problem for most Golfers. We have found that Golfers trying to break 90 average 41 putts per round and Golfers trying to break 100 average 47 putts per round.
What does this mean for you? It’s very obvious to see how bringing your putts down from those numbers to 32 putts can be beneficial. However, improving your putts per round is not as easy as just improving your putting stroke – a lot more goes into it. For example: if your wedges around the green improve – you’ll have shorter, easier first putts. If your iron shots are struck more solid – your golf ball will end up closer to the hole, thus you’ll also have shorter, easier putts.
Then lets move on to Green Reading. Does a Golfer with better Green Reading skills have a better chance of sinking more putts than a Golfer with poor Green Reading Skills? Of course – yet how many Golfers work on their Green Reading? How do you think your Green Reading skills compare to Cink’s? Wouldn’t superior Green Reading skills help your putting? Do you think it makes a difference? I know we work hard on Green Reading at GMS – we spend over 1 hour on a Green Reading session and then we work on it every putt during our 9 holes of On-course Instruction each afternoon.
For the Instructor or “expert” that says the fastest way to improve your scores is to improve your putting stroke – I have to say that’s a short minded Instructor that is not looking at the big picture. There’s so much more that goes into good putting than just a good putting stroke (although that is a good thing to have). However, I can improve someone’s putting without even working on their putting stroke by working on the above two paragraphs!
How many putts each round is chipping it closer to the hole worth? How many putts each round is hitting your irons closer to the hole worth? How many putts per round is becoming a masterful Green Reader worth? 32 putts isn’t as difficult as it may first seem if you improve all of the above. The issue for most Golfers is that the sole way they try to improve their putting is by only working on their putting stroke. To become a good putter – you need more than just a good putting stroke!
Is 83 possible? Sure it is! However, most of the golf instruction that people take and read is based on the Monkey way of doing things. At GMS – we do it completely different – and our Golfers see improved results because of it.
The Monkey has given up on golf instruction because it hasn’t worked for them, so they rely on reading Golf Magazine looking for golf tips as they continually are becoming more and more frustrated with their lack of progress
The Player has a PLAN to score 83
Go ahead, come to GMS and learn to become a Player
Regards,
Marc Solomon
